5.05.2013

TOS Review - LiteracySoft

What is it?

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LiteracySoft is an app available for the iPad and iPhone that teaches reading and phonics to children.  There are 52 of lessons in the program starting with basic letters and working up to advanced blending.  Upon completion of this program, a student will be able to read at a 1st grade level.

This app is designed to allow students to learn independently and at their own pace.  Over the course of the program students learn all 44 letter sounds and their graphemes, over 400 vocabulary words, spelling practice, and speed drills.

How we used it:


We started our review of this app while we were on our two week vacation in Arizona.  Being away from home, this app came at the perfect time.  We started by using it in the afternoons and have continued using it daily for a little reading practice.

Josie and I went through the first few lessons together, but by lesson 3 she was able to do this app all on her own which I loved!  Each lesson follows the same order making it very easy for independent learning.  The first couple of activities in each lesson were pretty easy, basically learning letter or blend sounds that she already knew, from there she was quizzed on reading words, basic phrases, spelling, and reading longer sentences.  Before passing a lesson, she had a race to see how fast she could find words that were said by the app.



My biggest gripe with other apps we've tried was that I either had to sit with her to read the directions or that there was no way to go back if she didn't hear something.  This app has a "repeat" button right at the top of each page making it so easy for her to hear directions again if she needs to.  

She can also go back or jump over a lesson that's too easy by clicking the arrows.  I liked this for the letter sounds part that she already knows, but I did catch her skipping things she just didn't feel like doing too.  I would have loved to have been able to lock that feature to make sure she did each part.

The graphics are great and the sound is easy to hear.


My Opinion:

This is by far my favorite reading app we have used.  It covers a wide range of skills and Josie has been enjoying it.  The lessons are long enough to actually count as a good lesson and short enough that she could easily finish them in under 15 minutes.

I loved that she could do them independently and that it tracked where she was so that she could pick up right where she left off.

This app is well worth the price.  I plan to continue to use it over the Summer.

Product Details:
www.LiteracySoft.com
Phonics & Reading with McGuffey app - $19.99
Purchase Here

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2 comments:

Autumn said...

Wow! Thank you for doing this review! I am going to take a closer look at this app! My son isn't loving the phonic program we've been using, so we're taking a little break from it. This might be a good fit for us!

Julie G said...

I just found your blog. My son, Brady also has HLHS. He is turning 8 in July.